College
by MineAlone
Summary: Four moments chronicling Troy and Gabriella's college experience.


_Freshmen Year: The one where Troy meets Gabriella._

A melodic giggle filled Troy's ears before she entered his vision. He'd just carried the six hundredth box up the two flights of stairs, and he was tired. Her stuff had been neatly stacked when he got here, and he envied the lucky bastard that got to help her move in. She seemed like a light packer.

"Thanks," her melodic giggle tapered off into a warm conversation, "yeah. I'm almost back now. I think I'll unpack a little before dinner. Okay. Love you too." As her conversation ended, she appeared in the door. Her doe eyes betrayed her surprise.

Troy had consciously tried to make himself look busy so that their first meeting wouldn't be awkward, but as he looked up from the box of books he was unpacking, he was struck with awe at how her presence filled the room. She was wearing a red crop top beneath a pair of well-loved, faded overalls, and her dark hair was a mass of untamed curls. She pushed a few out of her face before smiling unsurely at him. She was radiant in a sort of girl-next-door kind of way, but Troy was sure she could pull off goddess on any given day.

"Hello?" it sounded more like a question as she waved one small hand, "You must be Kelsi?" It was definitely a question.

Troy stood, laughing heartily. He stopped when he noticed the flush of pink that overtook her face. He stuck out his hand, "I'm actually Troy. I'm Kelsi's boyfriend, and I'm helping her move. Really, I feel like I'm doing all the moving. She's gone to have her student ID made. She should be back soon."

"Oh!" Her giggles played in his ears again as she understood. She took his hand happily before introducing herself, "I'm Gabriella."

"Nice to meet you, Gabriella. I wish Kelsi packed as lightly as you do." He motioned to the few boxes she had piled neatly on her side of the room.

"I probably pack similarly to Kelsi," Gabriella smiled, "But I'm in the honor's program, so I moved in a couple of days ago. I've unpacked a bit. You should see my closet." She walked over to open the door as evidence.

"Well, I take it back, then." Troy watched Gabriella twirl a piece of her hair for a moment as they stood in awkward silence.

"Is this everything?" Gabriella finally asked.

"Not even close."

"Then let me help you! I'll have you know, I'm pretty good at carrying boxes."

"You're in luck then, because I happen to know where we can find a boat load of boxes."

Her giggle was going to be the death of him.

She grabbed his hand, and pulled him out the door, "What are we waiting for?!"

Troy took that back. Maybe it was the feeling of her hand in his that was going to be the death of him.

 _Sophomore Year: The one where Gabriella adores Troy._

"Kelsi," Gabriella whined melodramatically as she walked into their dorm room. "I need ice cream and tampons." She plopped down on her bed and buried her face in the pillows before finally turning over to properly greet Kelsi.

"Hey, Brie," Troy smirked at her.

He literally startled her out of her bed. Gabriella's body spasmed of its own accord and she fell in the floor.

"Shit! Brie, are you okay?" Troy jumped from Kelsi's bed and rushed to Gabriella's aid.

"Mostly just hurt my pride," she confessed as Troy helped her up. He pushed her curly hair out of her face and smiled at her.

"Kelsi left to go practice about ten minutes ago. I was actually waiting here for you to see if you wanted to grab something to eat."

Gabriella looked up at him, adoration for the boy written all over her face, "Can we get French fries and pie?"

"What happened to ice cream?"

"It goes on top of the pie," she answered as if it was obvious.

"Gene's Diner?"

A brilliant smile overtook her face, "My favorite period food!"

They sat across from each other, both enjoying burgers and fries. Gabriella had yet to order her pie with ice cream.

"Thank you, Troy," Gabriella said out of the blue.

"For what?"

"For always thinking of me. For bringing me here for my favorite greasy, salty, sweet, yucky for your body foods place, AND for paying."

"What are friends for?"

"You're more than my friend," she was sweet and sincere. "Friends study with you in the library, or watch Netflix with you. You're…" she couldn't quite seem to find the right words. "You're home," she retreated a bit into herself as she sang the lyrics that manifested themselves at her admittance, "'Cause it's you that I'm running to, baby…you are home to me." Gabriella blushed as the words left her mouth.

"If I'm home," Troy began earnestly, letting his tentative fingers reach out to brush over hers, "then you're certainly the North Star, because you've led me to this place I am right now. _You've_ led _me_ home. You're my home. How is it that I've known you for one year and you're the most defining influence of my life?"

Gabriella blushed before shyly standing from her spot across from Troy and sliding into the seat next to him. She kissed his cheek. "Maybe we can both be home for one another," she suggested.

"I'd like that."

 _Junior Year: The one where Troy tells Gabriella._

Gabriella sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes as she felt a presence beside her. "I love this tree," much to her dismay, she began to cry again. She felt Troy lace his fingers with hers. They both stared ahead as they sat beneath the tree they had claimed as their own. They came to the tree when they needed quiet, when they needed to process, when they needed to be alone, when they needed to breathe, or when they needed one another.

"I know," Troy acknowledged her statement solemnly. His thumb was rubbing slow circles against the soft skin of her hand.

They sat in silence for at least twenty minutes. Gabriella leaned her head against Troy's shoulder, and he could feel her silent tears soaking his shirt. He turned his head to place a chaste kiss on her forehead. Finally, Gabriella looked up at Troy, the heartbreak written in her brown eyes.

"I don't understand," she confessed. "What did I do?"

"Brie, you didn't do anything." Troy assured as his fingers ran through her hair.

Gabriella sighed as she took a moment to relish the feeling. She loved when he played with her hair. It was the most relaxing feeling in the world. When she freaked out over finals or presentations, he would always talk her out of a panic with his comforting voice and magical hands. "I obviously did something." The sadness overwhelmed her again, and she searched his blue eyes for something she wasn't sure of, "You don't just _decide_ you don't want to be roommates with someone when you've lived with them for nearly three years. I've clearly done something to upset Kelsi, but she won't talk to me." Gabriella let out a sob before launching into Troy's embrace. Her arms wrapped securely around his neck as she buried her wet face into his warm skin.

Troy couldn't tell her. She was the sweetest, most wonderful person he had ever had the privilege of knowing, and if he told her why Kelsi didn't want to be her roommate anymore, he would lose her. He would break her heart. He pulled Gabriella into his lap so that he could hold her more protectively. Her sobs subsided a bit, and he wrestled with how he could possibly tell her the truth.

"Besides you, she's my best friend. She has been since freshmen year. I thought I was her best friend too." Her voice dropped until she was whispering her hurt to Troy. "She won't even tell me why. I don't know what I did. She just told me that she doesn't think we should room together anymore, and that after this semester she wants a new roommate."

"Brie," Troy cooed, about to tell her everything.

She cut him off, "I don't know what to do. She won't answer her phone, and she's been staying with some of her music friends this week. I haven't seen her at all. She knows when I have class, so she can easily avoid me. I just don't know why she would want to do that. I must have done something awful."

Tears sparkled in her eyes as she looked up at Troy, "You're her boyfriend. She must have told you something. Please, Troy. Please tell me so that I can fix it."

"You can't fix it," he told her sadly, "because you didn't do anything."

"But –"

"It's my fault," Troy admitted with a hitch in his voice. "She doesn't want to be your roommate because of something I did."

"Troy?" Her doe eyes widened, and she cupped his cheek so that they were looking at one another. Her face was mere inches from is, and as she whispered, her breath fanned against his lips, "Please tell me."

He couldn't deny her anything even if he wanted to do so, even when what he was going to tell her was so shameful, "I said your name."

"What?"

Troy sighed, then looked directly into Gabriella's confused brown eyes, "I said your name. I said it when Kelsi and I were –"

Realization flashed across Gabriella's face before she evacuated his embrace. He was afraid of this, "During sex? You said my name during sex? But…why?"

"Because," he stood directly in front of here, "Gabriella, I am so in love with you. The day I was moving Kelsi into your dorm room freshmen year, I heard your voice, and then I saw you, and then you took my hand, and we moved boxes, and everything. Then you told me I was home, and you're definitely home to me, and just, everything. All of it. All of you. I love you."

She had an expression on her face that he couldn't quite read. It wasn't until she spoke that he knew why he couldn't read it. It was because he'd never seen it. She was angry, "You don't love me, Troy. You've ruined everything. I've lost both of my best friends now. You don't love me. You don't sleep with another girl when you love someone." She was angry, but tears were sliding down her flushed cheeks, "You would never hurt the girl you love by sleeping with someone else. If you love someone you put their happiness first. You always think about them, and you wonder if they're thinking of you. You smile even when it hurts, because you know that the person you love is happy. You pretend that seeing the person you love with another girl doesn't break your heart, and when that pain is a dull ache you bury it, because you know that telling him you love him would only end badly."

Troy realized that they weren't talking about him anymore. Gabriella was still pacing, and crying, and yelling at him when he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her. It was slow, and bruising, and good, and bold and everything a kiss with Gabriella should be. He pulled back, but didn't let go of her, "How long?" his voice was husky with a need to know.

She shook her head, unwilling to answer.

"Gabriella, I do love you. Everything's gotten so fucked up. I've tried to do everything you just said. I've tried to smile and pretend nothing was there. That's what sleeping with Kelsi was. We've been dating for years, and I was trying to keep everything as normal as possible, trying to be in love with her, but I couldn't. I can't."

"What if you fall out of love with me too?" She was scared. "I've loved you since the second month of freshmen year; and I thought that being your friend would be enough. That it wouldn't hurt so badly if at least I had a little of you. But what happens if I have all of you, but you fall out of love with me, like you did with Kelsi?"

"That's not possible," Troy's voice was firm. "I was never in love with Kelsi. I liked her. I still like her. She's a great person, but I've never felt anything for her or anyone like what I feel for you. No one can replace this feeling, Brie. It's you forever. I promise." Troy kissed her again. Then he smiled, "I'm going to marry you, and make mind-blowing love to you, and we're going to have babies, and you'll smear lipstick all over their fat little faces from all the kisses you shower them with – because that's the kind of mama you're going to be – and we'll walk through the park holding hands as we smile at toddlers, but you'll let go of my hand as you run to scoop up the youngest one who's about to fall, and I'll love you even more than I already do now." He could feel her body trembling slightly against his, "And that's just how it's going to have to be, Gabriella, because I love you; and I'll always love you."

"I think you should be my new roommate," her eyes were shining with love for the boy in front of her as he leaned down to kiss her again.

 _Senior Year: The one where they love each other._

"Please," the single word dripped with so much want that Troy knew he couldn't deny her. He stopped teasing, and in one slow movement he was buried inside her warmth. They both moaned and Troy's mouth searched hers, sure that her love contained all the answers to the universe. He moved above her, unlacing their hands so that he could hitch her leg up around his waist.

They never tired of one another. In the beginning they had fumbled as they learned one another's bodies. They had blushed, and their love making was rushed, for fear of doing something to kill the mood. Now they were old pros. Her body was mapped on his brain from the times he'd traced it with his fingers and with his tongue. His body was seared into her mind from the heat that radiated from his smooth skin each time she touched him. Their love making was slow right now, making sure to pay particular attention to the areas of their bodies that responded best to light touches, or hard sucks, or gentle explorations.

"God, I love you," Troy panted.

Gabriella smiled and returned the sentiment, "I love you."

Saturdays were dedicated to nudity. For at least eighteen of the twenty-four hours that the day contained, Troy refused to leave his apartment, and he insisted that while in the apartment they take full advantage of the fact that they could make love anywhere and everywhere – which they did. It was hard to enjoy one another throughout the week, so they took particular care to enjoy one another fully on Saturdays.

Gabriella stood in the doorway of the kitchen admiring the view as Troy bent over to retrieve whatever they had in the refrigerator. She slipped on a pair of underwear, and had already prepared her argument if Troy said anything, but as he turned to look at her and offered the nonchalant statement, "I'm just going to take them off of you in thirty minutes," her argument died. She was okay with the knowledge that they would be peeled from her body after they ate.

She walked to him and kissed his chest, "Okay."

He grinned down at her before sliding his hand down her back and offering the only clothed area of her body an affectionate squeeze that made her cheeks flair with heat. "I'll make some pasta," Troy suggested, acting as if he hadn't done what he just did.

Gabriella nodded, "I'll make the sauce this time. You add too much salt."

"No such thing," she was reaching into the cabinet for spices as he leaned down to kiss the back of her neck, "That's like saying there's too much cheese, baby."

"There is _never_ too much cheese, but you do add too much salt. Don't worry, though. Only one of us can be perfect in this relationship," then she turned around and stood on tiptoe so that she could whisper in his ear, "and it's me."

Lunch was temporarily forgotten as Troy hoisted Gabriella onto the kitchen counter and wedged himself between her thighs. Their tongues dueled as their hands roamed, and Gabriella realized that it would not, in fact, be thirty minutes before her underwear was removed.

Twenty minutes later Troy brushed sweaty curls from Gabriella's face, and offered her a peck on the lips.

"We go at it like bunnies," she giggled. "We couldn't even make a meal that takes fifteen minutes before your hand was in my underwear.

"Are you complaining?" Troy quirked an eyebrow.

Gabriella offered him a slow smile that reveled in the love they shared, "Absolutely not. I love you so much, Troy." Her fingers played with his hair as she stared into his blue eyes, the eyes she wanted to stare into forever. "The only think I could possibly want more than you right now is that pasta we were supposed to make."

As if in agreement, Troy's stomach made a low rumbling sound that caused both Troy and Gabriella to erupt in laughter.

"Let's make pasta then," Troy kissed her. He didn't know if he could stop kissing her. "I guess I've made enough of a meal out of you to satiate _that_ appetite for at least a few minutes."

"Glad to hear it," she smiled, but didn't make any move to take her arms away from his neck.

"Pasta time!" Troy announced.

"Yes!" Gabriella agreed with just as much vigor.

But neither of them made a move from the other's embrace.


End file.
